Planetary Science Institute

Happy Friday! 🪐 🐾

This week's is playful Stella who is NOT going to give up her pink stuffed toy! Adorable and stubborn Stella lives and plays with PSI’s Senior Scientist Pamela Gay.

PSI in the News:

PSI's Shawn Wright discussed his recent publication on shocked soil on the Geology Letter Substack. Watch/listen here:

geologyletter.substack.com

This morning, PSI's Amanda Hendrix, Roger Clark, Morgan Cable and Tom McCord snapped a picture at the University of Colorado, Boulder. They've gathered with other mission science and operations folks for the annual Europa Clipper Project Science Group meeting, where they will plan for all aspects of the Europa encounters during the tour of the Jovian system.

: This rendering of the Juno spacecraft flying over Jupiter and it's Great Red Spot was rendered using actual mission data.

Interested in processing your own images? Visit: https://buff.ly/puVFvXq

Data and image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/SwRI/Kevin M. Gill

Juno Model: NASA/JPL-Caltech

We love answering questions about the mysteries of our Solar System!

This week Astronomy Magazine called on PSI's William Hartmann to help answer the question "Why does 1 side of the Moon have a lot of craters, while the other side does not?" Click through to read his answer!

Why does one side of the Moon have a lot of craters, while the other does not? It’s possible the Earth-facing side got more large impact basins than the farside in the Moon's first few hundred million years.

❓ Was there a significant mentor or teacher who inspired you?
🎙️ My undergraduate advisor at Mount Holyoke College (and now PSI colleague!) Darby Dyar has probably been the biggest influence and inspiration for me. Darby taught me how to do research in the three years I spent working in her lab in the MHC Astronomy Department. She taught me how to write an academic paper, how to responsibly and reliably perform lab work using specialized hardware and software, and she showed me the critical importance of having strong interpersonal relationships with the colleagues in your lab – how everyone is equally important, regardless of if they are the senior researcher, temporary intern, or custodian, everyone contributes in critical ways. Darby's incredible work ethic has only been matched by the generosity she has shown me over the years, and I am where I am today because of her. Actually that is very specifically true right now, since she first suggested I apply to PSI!

❓ Is there anything about your early choices that you would change if you could?
🎙️ I started college majoring in physics at Boston College, but realized after a couple of semesters that I was extremely unhappy, both with my major and my college. This motivated me to transfer to Mount Holyoke College and switch majors to astronomy, eventually adding a minor in geology, which is how I found my way to planetary science. So while my path would have been more straightforward if I had started majoring in astronomy right away, I wouldn't do things differently – my path to planetary science has been one of trial and error, and I can now appreciate how much I love my work since I spent time studying multiple fields that I did not enjoy. Plus, when I was in high school, I had not in my wildest dreams considered attending a women's college like Mount Holyoke. But my time at MHC was one of my most formative experiences, and I am so thankful I ended up there, despite the bumpy road.

❓ What advice do you have for students considering a career in planetary science?
🎙️ In general, read as much as you can. Find the methods, geologic processes, and planetary bodies that spark your interest and follow those leads, even if they are completely different from the research you are currently working on. And when planning out a longer-term research strategy, push yourself to study a diversity of planetary bodies. Funding priorities and mission targets change over time, so you will set yourself up for success if you have experience studying a range of planetary bodies, rather than focusing entirely on one planet, one technique, or one geologic process.

❓ Do you have a specific new research goal for the coming year?
🎙️ This next year I am extremely excited to be working on the science team for the first landed Artemis mission to the Moon's south pole. I anticipate spending much of the next year analyzing potential landing sites, and taking a deeper dive into lunar highlands regolith structure in advance of the mission, which is currently scheduled for 2028. Stay tuned!

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PSI's Kirby Runyon was featured on the HELLO FUTURE podcast! Catch it here: https://buff.ly/IqWsx8b

In this episode host Kevin Cirilli sits down with his space coach, Kirby Runyon, research scientist at the Planetary Science Institute (PSI) and contributor to The Planetary Society, who is one of NASA’s leading experts mapping the Moon. Kirby breaks down the Moon’s incredible geological diversity, from massive impact basins and ancient lava plains to future landing sites for crewed missions. He explains why humans should be racing back to the Moon and playfully tackles the big question: Should we reclassify it as a planet? Packed with NASA-backed insights, this episode shows why the Moon isn’t just a destination — it’s the key to our future as a spacefaring species.

HELLO FUTURE: Is the Moon a Planet? Mapping Lunar Geography with Space Coach Kirby Runyon In this episode of HELLO FUTURE, host Kevin Cirilli sits down with his space coach, Kirby Runyon — research scientist at the Planetary Science Institute (PSI) and contributor to The Planetary Society — who is one of NASA’s leading experts mapping the Moon. Kirby breaks down the Moon’s incred...

Happy Friday! 🌌 🎨

This week's features a painting from our art collection. This piece, Coronagraph from the Moon, was painted by PSI cofounder William K. Hartmann in 2025. A coronagraph is a device that blocks out direct light from the Sun so the corona can be studied. However, coronagraphs can’t be used effectively on Earth due to scattered light in the atmosphere. The Moon, on the other hand, lacks an atmosphere, so astronauts could create a handheld coronagraph for use on the surface.

Learn more about the collection: https://buff.ly/M9qipVt

: The Milky Way Rises Over Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park

The center of the Milky Way and the constellation of Sagittarius are on the right side of the arch, and the Constellation Cygnus is above the left side of the arch, with the red North America Nebula.

This was taken by PSI Senior Scientist Roger Clark.

We never know where PSI scientists will be next. For David Grinspoon, the answer was London for SWSX where he talked with Dune's production designer building worlds at the junction of science and fiction. Learn more in this The Hollywood Reporter article.

‘Dune’ Oscar Winner Talks Pushing Back on AI and the One Mode of Time Travel He Knows At SXSW London, Canadian production designer Patrice Vermette took the audience inside his process, talking about “method designing" and "scientific jam sessions."